Eminem vs. ‘Til I Collapse’ Rapper List: Who Comes Out on Top?

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As one of the top rappers in the game, Eminem has built up a considerable amount of credibility for himself: his warped-Cinderella rise to fame (from 8 Mile to multi-millionaire), big-name collaborations, and controversial lyrics of an insightful vulgarism have all given Marshall Mathers substantial bragging rights. And while the Real Slim Shady isn’t shy about showing his hubris, he’s also been known to give credit where it’s duly inspired him. In “Till I Collapse,” the 18th track off the album The Eminem Show, Mathers recites in descending order those rappers he believes demonstrate the best craft. Coming in at the tail end of the list, he names himself.

But what we want to know, is: How does Eminem stack up against his own favorites?

We’ve broken down Shady’s “Till I Collapse” Rapper List, comparing and contrasting each artist’s average ticket prices of the past year, and/or their overall album sales (where available) with Em’s own data – saving, like the surprisingly humble rapper does himself, Mathers for last in each category. To see how Redman, Jay Z, Tupac, Biggie, Andre 3000, Jadakiss, Kurupt, and Nas stand against the musical giant who looks up to them, read through our brief analysis below, or keep scrolling for visuals on ticket prices and record sales.

Eminem vs. “Till I Collapse” Rappers

With available data concentrating solely on the past 2011-2012 year, Mathers lands toward the bottom end of the average ticket-price pack. Jay Z clocks in at No. 1, with the highest average price paid for his MGM Grand Garden Arena show in Vegas last September tallied at $642. That’s almost $300 more than Eminem’s average ticket-price high of $348 dollars, plopped down for his Manchester Farm show around the same time Jay performed in the desert playground. Em’s take is still higher than Jadakiss’ $100 average, but well short of Nas’ $500 top haul.

Moving ahead into album-sales comparisons, including those rappers for whom average ticket-price data weren’t available, the context widens and so does Mathers’ lead. Far and away, Eminem is the top-selling artist of the group. Even posthumous record-crushers Biggie and Tupac, who come in at a staggering 58 and 75 million records, respectively, fall far below Eminem’s 86-million global tally. The others barely bear mentioning – even, or especially, Redman, whom Em calls “Reggie” in “Till I Collapse,” listing him first among his premier rappers. Apparently, the domestic community disagrees: Redman’s US album sales to date only number around 7 million (compared with Eminem’s 40 million), and those include collaborations with Method Man.

To conclude, it would seem it’s “Till I Collapse” Rappers 1, Eminem 1. However, if Em heads out on tour again soon (like he’s bound to?), we’ll have more data with which to play the numbers game, calling for a reevaluation of how the master stacks up against his own inspiration.